First ever Anarchist Book Fair in South Africa

Remember, remember, the fifth of November, as this is the date when South Africa will play host to its first ever Anarchist Book Fair, taking place in Observatory, Cape Town, at Café Ganesh (corner Trill Road and Lower Main Road).

Remember, remember, the fifth of November, as this is the date when South Africa will play host to its first ever Anarchist Book Fair, taking place in Observatory, Cape Town, at Café Ganesh (corner Trill Road and Lower Main Road).

Comrades, armchair anarchists, committed revolutionaries and book lovers are invited to come and learn about this exciting philosophy and its proud history of resistance. You can swing by any time between 10am and 6pm to check out a wide range of radical literature, music, movies, talks and more. You'll also have the chance to meet like-minded people, engage in discussions and workshops, and help to foment dissent (the ideal antidote to South Africa’s one party state).

Come and tune into an exciting moment in history. Not only have long-term dictatorships been overthrown by grassroots movements in North Africa (many of which organised along anarchist lines) but we're also seeing a new decentralised occupation movement that started in Wall Street, New York and is now spreading across the world. People are taking to the streets and, if not directly calling for anarchism, are organising with anarchist principles such as horizontalism, decentralisation, and consensus-based decision-making.

Says one of the organisers Neil Goodwin, ‘Whenever societies descend into destruction and violence, commentators like to reach for the ‘anarchy’ label, in much the same way that colonialists once used ‘black’ to describe anything negative. This ideological hatchet job’s being going on for so long that people just accept it now. A flick through any one of hundreds of books at this bookfair will show you a completely different picture of Anarchy, a rich and vibrant set of values and social history built on co-operation, equality and ingenuity.’

There will be over 12 stalls and collectives taking part including –
The Missing Shelf, Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front, CrimethInc South Africa, Intsangu Clothes, Amandla! Magazine, Soundz of the South, Feminist Alternatives and Botsotso. The Sympony Way Pavement Dwellers, who will also be there showcasing their extraordinary book "No Land! No House! No Vote!"
Other talks will touch on such themes as “Anarchism, wtf? An introduction to anarchist ideas and history”…“Murdering the Queer dream: an incomplete personal critique on the liberal gay agenda in politics, in relationships, in death”…“Art & (revolutionary) Activism”
The programme will also include a feast of thought provoking films, including the South African premiere of ‘Reclaim the Streets – The Movie’, the staggering ‘Fourth World War’, a sneak preview of ‘Dear Mandela’, and that anarchist classic “Living Utopia”.

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Comrade Lawrence was born on 7 July 1969 in Kliptown before moving to Ceza in KwaZulu-Natal. He attended Ceza Primary and Nghunghunyone Secondary, matriculating in 1986 with exemption (excellent at that time).

October 26th the Cork branch of the Worker’s Solidarity Movement hosted a talk by South African anarchist and ZABALAZA Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF) member, Jonathan. The ZACF is an organisation of anarchist individuals from South Africa who identify with the communist tradition within Anarchism. The front is organised around the principles of theoretical and tactical unity, collective responsibility and federalism. Their activities include study and theoretical development, anarchist agitation and propaganda, and participation within the class struggle.

Around 120 people, from seasoned anarchist militants and trade unionists to students and professors came together at Wits University in Johannesburg on Wednesday 7 October 2009 for the launch of “Black Flame: The revolutionary class politics of anarchism and syndicalism”, the first of a two volume series on anarchist history and theory by Lucien van der Walt and Michael Schmidt. The room was filled up so fast and so quickly that latecomers had to find space on the stairs - one of the biggest launches at the university in years. [Nederlands]

On Saturday 12th September the Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front (ZACF) facilitated a Red and Black Forum - or popular education workshop - at a hall in the Sebokeng Municipal Hostel in Sebokeng township, about 50 kilometers south of Johannesburg.

The Zabalaza Anarchist Communist Front, or ZACF – Zabalaza meaning ‘struggle’ in isiZulu and isiXhosa – is a specific anarchist political organisation based in Johannesburg, South Africa. It is a unitary organisation – or federation of individuals, as opposed to a federation of collectives – whereby membership is on an individual basis, by invitation only. This is because we have seen – through our own experience, as well as that of global anarchism historically – that we can accomplish more as an organisation, and be more effective, when our members share a certain level of theoretical and strategic unity, and collective responsibility.

Usually masked - to prevent identification and as protection against the teargas used by the repressive forces - and dressed distinctively in the traditional anarchist colour of black, the so-called "black bloc" has provided anarchism with its greatest public profile since the mass protest movements of the late 1960s. But this is a class war and we need to be flexible in our tactics and change swiftly where needed in order to keep the enemy off balance. For now, it is time to drop the black bloc tactic, go unmasked in daylight, and blend in with the workers. Since they are prepared for the black bloc, we need new approaches that will catch them off-guard.

Comrade Lawrence was born on 7 July 1969 in Kliptown before moving to Ceza in KwaZulu-Natal. He attended Ceza Primary and Nghunghunyone Secondary, matriculating in 1986 with exemption (excellent at that time).